


Taking Care

by Sjukdom



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-07
Updated: 2016-06-07
Packaged: 2018-07-12 23:08:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7127159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sjukdom/pseuds/Sjukdom
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oswald is bored and Edward buys him a Tamagotchi to cheer him up a bit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Taking Care

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AmmyOkami](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmmyOkami/gifts).



> Inspired by the prompt of AmmyOkami.

Oswald sat gloomily on the bed, arms crossed in a defensive way, lips pursued, the whole look of him showing dignified displease. He managed to look dignified even wearing Ed’s pajamas with gauntlets so long they covered his palms. The look of him and the huge bed he was on reminded Ed of a king in exile. And now this exile had become especially boring.

Oswald noticed his attention and pretended to be looking out of window at the carousel of headlights. The expression in his eyes could make them all go out immediately if such things were only possible. Well, at least it would amuse him a bit.

His wound still demanded that he must spend most of the time lying still. Naturally, the process was boring. Ed tried offering his sudden patient every suitable time-killing occupation he could think of, but apparently none of them was good enough. Oswald turned down every book, movie or record Edward showed him, got fed up with riddles and word games even quicker than Ed’s colleagues at GCPD and was extremely annoyed when he found out that Ed hadn’t the slightest idea of any other song he liked except the one he had played before. In any other words, Oswald’s one and only entertainment was constant sulking and unnerving Edward.

Now Ed was hoping he would finally fix it. He stepped forward, slightly disappointed that he had been so easy to notice, hiding something behind his back in his large hands clasped together. Oswald stared out of the window stubbornly, though there was nothing to stare at. Ed minced to the bed and bent forward a little.

“Having fun?”, asked he, trying to catch Oswald’s glance, but instead everything he caught was his right ear and cheek and then his nape as Oswald turned his back on him completely.

“A lot of”, muttered Oswald under his breath.

“I have something here for you”, Ed tried his best, showing his palms and two objects that were lying on them to Oswald’s disdainful nape. If Oswald was a king, then he certainly was a stupid servant, thought Ed gloomily.

“What is it, pieces of another Galavan’s bitch?” Oswald spat out, still refusing to face Edward. “It was the best you managed to think of so far, by the way.”

Edward sighed stoically, went round the bed and stood between Oswald and the window. Oswald finally honored him with a glance, then lowered it and stared at the objects Ed was demonstrating. They were small, round, bright colored and each bore a tiny screen and a couple of buttons on it. Oswald cocked his head to the right, then to the left.

“What’s this?” he said with a scorn as if Ed presented him a dead cockroach.

“Tamagotchi”, answered Edward a bit too enthusiastically. When Oswald groaned and intended to roll on his side away from him and his ridiculous toys, he hastened to speak on. “Wait, let me explain to you how they work!”

It certainly wasn’t the first time when Oswald regretted he couldn’t just stand up and leave this flat and to hell with his injuries. Ed’s pajamas he had to wear while his own clothes were in a constant laundry state were much more efficient than any chains.

***

The gloomy look didn’t leave Oswald’s face, except that now it was turned on the small black and white Tamagotchi screen. Apparently he wasn’t very happy with the general idea of growing up two-dimensional pets.

“You don’t like it at all?” asked Edward with disappointment. “Look, I bought a penguin one just for you.”

Oswald snorted, not very impressed with Ed’s carefulness. He picked at the thing and winced when it made a shrill sound.

“Oh, you have to feed it”, said Ed cheerfully. Oswald raised his eyes slowly and sat staring at him, unblinking and motionless as the virtual penguin demanded its virtual meal. Edward suddenly felt himself utterly uncomfortable.

“Or what?”

“Or- oh. Or it will die”, explained he and moistened his lips nervously. His own Tamagotchi (a penguin, too, but Ed kept quiet about it) beeped and he pressed the button to satisfy its needs.

“Why make a toy that can die?” asked Oswald sourly and threw it away. It hit the floor with an almost pitiful sound and rolled in the corner. The beeping went on for some time and died away.

***

When Oswald woke up the next day, his Tamagotchi was waiting for him on his pillow like a tiny cheerfully colored omen. It was obvious that the mortal toy was intended to stay.

Strategically Ed ceased any interactions with Oswald except those strictly necessary and busied himself with his pet penguin, looking rather gleeful. Not all of his glee was intended to make Oswald tired of Ed’s disregard and finally force him to try the Tamagotchi out. He was actually quite happy with at least one penguin here that didn’t complain and was always glad to see him.

After a few more days these tactics proved themselves successful. Although Edward strongly suspected that Oswald was more dissatisfied with his indifference to Oswald’s dissatisfaction than with anything else.

Ed squinted at Oswald fiddling with his Tamagotchi for a while and doing what it wanted. The gloom now surrounded his whole person like a cloud. When Edward finally decided to ask him how he and his little penguin brother were both doing, a shocked expression crossed Oswald’s face.

Worried, Ed jumped up from his chair so quick he overturned it. His own poor Tamagotchi was instantly forgotten.

“What’s up? Is something wrong with your shoulder?”

Oswald looked at him, completely bewildered.

“It died!”

“Eh?” it was hard for Ed to comprehend at once what Oswald was talking about. “Oh. You’re talking about your Tamagotchi?”

“Yes!” said Oswald indignantly. “I did all it wanted and it died!”

“Sorry to hear”, murmured Ed, getting closer to him carefully. Oswald was still looking at the toy with disbelief. He squeezed it in his fist with surprising strength and Edward stopped, waiting for him to throw it away again, but Oswald just unclenched his fingers and let it drop on the blanket.

“That’s how it is, huh? You do all you can, at least you think that you do it all and they die anyway, no matter what”, he poked the toy lightly. Edward eased himself onto the bed that suddenly turned into a place of sorrow and stared at the Tamagotchi, too.

“I’m sorry”, he said in an entirely different tone. “I didn’t mean to upset you with this. It was a bad idea to buy it.”

Oswald shook his head. His silence and a sad expression on his face were much worse than any desperate screams or his usual badness.

“No, everything is fine. You just tried to cheer me up a bit. You are a good friend”, Oswald went quiet for a moment. “And my wounds are healing up just fine. If you haven’t found me I would die in these woods. I never thanked you properly for your help.”

“Okay”, said Edward awkwardly, not knowing what else to say.

“Thank you, Edward”, said Oswald sternly. “I’m glad I didn’t end up like this weird penguin thing.”

Ed laughed aloud, then caught Oswald’s expression and tried to look solemn too.

“And since you are so good at taking care”, Oswald reached out for his recently deceased Tamagotchi and held it out ceremoniously. “Please, look after this poor thing for me. I know you won’t let a penguin die.”

Reflexively Edward took the Tamagotchi. Oswald smiled at him smugly and flapped back on the pillows with a satisfied sigh. His gaze immediately turned to the window. Perhaps, he saw something there Ed didn’t see. Or dreamed about the moment, when he would fully recover and be himself again.

While Edward was holding Oswald’s Tamagotchi, his own beeped solicitously from its place. Ed suppressed a sigh.

How comes he has brought home only one penguin and now had two more to take care of?


End file.
